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DC is putting all their marketing marbles in the upcoming Batman event 'Joker War' and it finally kicks off next month on July 21 with Batman #95, written by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Jorge Jimenez and Tomeu Morey.
Here's how the publisher is describing the "final showdown" between Batman and the Joker.
"It was always going to come to this. The Clown Prince of Crime and the Dark Knight Detective go head-to-head for the last time. The Joker has never wanted to win before, he's never wanted his battle with Batman to end, but now his motivation has shifted. He has decided that one way or another, this will be the final chapter to their story."
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As you can see by preview pages DC has released, they're slipping in a reference to Mark of Zorro, established in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1 as the movie a young Bruce Wayne attended with his parents the night they were murdered in Crime Alley, after decades of retellings of his origin simply referencing an unidentified movie.
Miller later corroborated the identity of the film in Batman: Year One and in both instances, it was the 1940 version starring Tyrone Power although subsequently writer Alan Grant referenced the 1920 silent version in Batman #459.
The identity of the movie has become official continuity since even if DC hasn't officially pinned down the version.
'Joker War' itself will conclude with Batman #100 in October, which you can bet DC has significant plans to celebrate.
"It’s going to be a new status quo," Tynion told Newsarama about Batman post-'Joker War.' "Let’s put it that way. We’re going to shake things up in Gotham City. Bruce Wayne is going to be upfront and center, but the Gotham City he operates in has changed a lot, and the way he operates as Batman is going to have to change a lot."
Check out the full preview of Batman #95 below.
